Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Watford 0
With first half goals from Shane Duffy and Neal Maupay, Brighton and Hove Albion – until tomorrow at least – are second in the Premier League.
Albion dominated from the start and had the majority of possession from the outset.
Pascal Gross and Solly March were causing Watford problems with their agility and accurate passing.
It was from an excellently delivered Gross corner that Shane Duffy headed Albion in front with an effort that went in off the underside of the crossbar.
Watford looked less than fluid and devoid of ideas.
Albion continued to press the Hornets, with Peter Etebo taking the full force of an Yves Bissouma free kick in the face.
It was Bissouma who cleverly made Albion’s second goal, nicking the ball after William Troost-Ekong miscontrolled a simple pass from Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.
Neal Maupay pounced on Bissouma’s pass and clinically put Albion 2-0 into the lead
Just before the break Maupay clashed with Etebo and was replaced by Aaron Connolly for the start of the second half.
Three more goals would have put Albion top of the Premier League. Instead Connolly missed a sitter and Cleverly saw a low effort pushed away by the largely under-employed Robert Sanchez in the Albion goal.
Emmanual Dennis had a sliding effort ruled out for offside.
Enock Mwepu replaced Leandro Trossard late on and saw an effort flash wide.
The Seagulls were good for their win and are currently second in the Premier League.
They take on third place Everton next Saturday at the Amex, with a 3pm kick off.
